Mltiple-signature machine.



W. F. WILLIAMS.

MULTIPLE SIGNATURE MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED SEPT. 13.1913.,

Patented June 16, 1914.

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W. P. WILLIAMS.

MULTIPLE SIGNATURE MACHINE.

APPLIGATION FILED SEPT. 13; 1913.

Patented June 16, 1914.

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ATTORNEYS COLUMBIA PLANocRArH (IO-,WASHINTON, D c.

WILLTAM FRANK WILLIAMS, OF MIAMI, ARIZONA.

MULTIPLE=SIGNATURE MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 16, 1914.

Application filed September 13, 1913. Serial N 0. 789,644.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it kn own that 1, WILLIAM F. WILLIAMS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Miami, in the county of Gila and State of Arizona, have invented a new and Improved Multiple-Signature Machine, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to stationery and has particular reference to means or machines for duplicate writing.

Among the objects of the invention is to devise a multiple signature machine charac-' terized by the ease of manipulation and re liability of operation due to the simplicity of construction and the lightness of all movable oints.

Another object of the invention is to provide a means whereby additional pens may be utilized or the number of pens reduced with the minimum amount of trouble or loss of time whereby the machine is adapted for a wide range of possibilities.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention will hereinafter be more fully described and claimed and illustrated in the drawings forming a part of this specification in which like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views, and in Which- Figure 1 is a plan view of a machine made in accordance with this invention; Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the base on the line 22 of Fig. 1, indicating the end of the pen mechanism in elevation; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of a part of the machine on the line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a similar view on the line 44 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a detail of the lifting rod slide clamp on the line 55 of Fig. 8; Fig. 6 is a detailed view of the master pen clamp; Fig. 7 is a similar view of one of the auxiliary pen clamps; and Fig. 8 is a detail of one of the pen rod clamps, this view corresponding to Fig. 5 of the main shaft clamps.

The several parts of the device may be made of any suitable materials, either metal or wood, and the relative sizes and proportions of the same, as well as the general design of the device, may be varied to a considerable extent without departing from the spirit of the invention hereinafter more fully setforth and specifically claimed.

At 10 is a base substantially flat and for the purpose of supporting the work and the operators arm. The base is preferably elevated slightly by means of a flange 11 whereby it may be supported. A gage 12 of angle bar construction and having a straight edge for the purpose of positioning the Work is a'djustably mounted along the surface of the base, being adapted to be clamped thereto in various positions by means of a pair of set screws 13 operating through slots 14. A pair of links 15 are pivoted at one end at 16 beneath the top of the base 10, and the other ends of the links are connected to said screws 13, the slots '14 being formed on arcs of circles having their centers at the pivot points 16.

The pen mechanism, indicated as a whole at 17, is supported upon two brackets 18 secured along one edge of the base and having alined bearings 19 adapted to support a main shaft 20. Said shaft is mounted in or between said bearings for slight rotation around its axis. The bearing points of said shaft are cones 21 held in adjustable socket screws 22 tapped through the bearing ends of said brackets. These screws provide delicate movable bearings of a substantial nature and provide for easy adjustment to take up lost motion due to wear and Without danger of binding the movable parts. Said main shaft 20 supports the entire weight of the pen mechanism.

At 28 I show a pen rod parallel to the main shaft 20 andof any suitable length. Said rod has clamped thereto a master pen 24 and any desired number of auxiliary pens 24. Said pen rod 23 is connected to the main shaft by a plurality of lifting rods 25 shown as tWo in number. Each of said lifting rods is secured rigidly at one end to a pen rod clamp 26 and at an intermediate part is slidably supported in a sleeve 27 carried by a clamp 28 connected to the main shaft. The free ends of the rods 25 are provided with balls or heads 25 which serve not only to prevent the rods from being displaced from the sleeves 27 but also serve as counterweights for the pen rod. Each of these clamps 26 vand 28 is adapted to be gripped snugly to its rod or shaft by means of a set screw 29 and is connected to the parthaving engagement with the rod25 by means of a swivel joint 26 or 28. These joints provide relative rotation of the parts around axes perpendicular to the axis of the shaft 25. As their name implies, these lifting rods are primarily for the purpose of controlling the vertical movements of the pen rod and the rotation of the pen mechanism around the axis of the main shaft. It will be understood that the lifting rods 25 are free to slide longitudinally through the sleeves 27. The pen rod 23 is connected also to the main shaft 20 by means of pairs of links 30 and arms 31. The links are provided at one end with yokes 32. The yokes 32 have pivotal connection with the pen rod by means of cone and socket bearings 83 of a nature similar to the'bearings 21 and 22 above described. The other ends of the links 30 have similar yokes 32 whereby they are connected to the adjacent ends of the arms 31. These yokes 32 also have cone bearings 38. The arms 31 are of somewhat bell crank form and are pivoted at 34; in openings 85 in the main shaft 20 near the angle of each arm. Each arm also is provided with an are shaped web 35 whereby the arm is stiffened and is given sufficient breadth to obviate any tendency for twisting of the arms in their bearings. The outer ends of the arms 31, or the ends thereof remote from the pen rod 23, are connected by a connecting rod 36. The connecting rod likewise has cone bearings 37 between it and the arms. At 38 I show a counterweight of any suitable nature clamped to the connecting rod 36 for the purpose of partially counterbalancing the weight of the pen rod and its attachments. The carrier links 30 are parallel to each other as are also the carrier arms 31. It follows, therefore, that both ends of the pen rod 23 are caused by said links and arms to partake of precisely the same movement with respect to the main shaft. It will be noted also in this connection that the lifting rods 25 relieve the links and carrier arms from any torsional or twisting strain due to the lifting of the pen rod. The carrier links and arms serve to determine the relative positions of the pen rod and main shaft as to the distance between them rather than serving to determine or control the elevation of the several pens.

The master pen 24 is secured by a clamp 39 having universal ointed connection with a clamp 40. As shown in Fig. 6, the clamp 39 is provided with diametrically oppositely disposed trunnions 41 journaled in the arms of a yoke L2 swiveled to the clamp 40 by means of a pivot screw 43. The trunnions 41 provide the minimum amount of friction between the clamp 89 and yoke 42, and the bearing between the clamp 4L0 and the yoke is preferably provided with a groove 44: for lubricant, making an easy joint for rotation around an axis at right angles to the axis of the trunnions 41.

A clamp 39 for each auxiliary pen 24' is clamped to the pen rod by means of a clamp 4L0. The connections between the parts 39 and 40 are very similar to the parts of the master pen clamp with the exception that a set screw 41 is provided to stiffen the jointbetween the clamp 39 and the yoke 42 and the bearing between the clamp and the yoke 40 is also preferably stiff that is to say, the movable joints of the auxiliary clamps are designed to be set stiff enough so that the pens will be held thereby in any position into which they may be adjusted by any particular operator of the machine according to his convenience or mode of writing. The master pen, however, being adapted to be grasped by the operators hand in the usual manner is preferred to have easy moving connections whereby better control of the apparatus and better results are derived.

The pens 24 and 24' may be of any conventional style of fountain pens or may be pencils or other writing or drawing instruments. The term pen as used herein should be given, therefore, an interpretation broad enough to cover any marking device adapted to be carried by the pen rod.

From the foregoing description of the construction the operation of the device may be briefly stated as follows: Vith the apparatus arranged and adjusted as shown in Fig, 1, the operator grasping the pen 24:, will have complete control of the movements of all of the pens both as to elevation and in a plane parallel to the base. Checks, letters or other papers to be written upon or signed will be placed upon the base by an attendant, the gage 12 being adjusted and the several auxiliary pens being adjusted according to the nature of the work. The operator then will bring his master pen into operation, and the movement thereof will be communicated in duplicate throughout all of the pens by reason of the connections 25 and the carrier links and arms 30 and 3].

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters Patent 1. In a multiple signature machine, the combination with a base and a pair of bearing brackets secured thereto, of pen mechanism comprising a main shaft j ournaled on its longitudinal axis between said brackets, a pen rod parallel to said main shaft, a se ries of pens clamped to the pen rod and occupying the same relation to the base, parallel movement connections between the pen rod and the main shaft, and a pair of lifting bars connected to the pen rod and having a slidable connection with the main shaft.

2. In a multiple signature machine, the combination with a base, of pen mechanism cooperating therewith, said mechanism comprising a main shaft, a pen. rod arranged parallel to said shaft, a plurality of pens clamped to said pen rod in similar relation to one another, parallel movement connections between the pen rod and the main shaft, whereby the position of the pen rod with respect to its distance from the main shaft is controlled, and lifting connections between the pen rod and the main shaft serving to relieve the parallel movement connections from lifting strains, said lifting connections comprising a pair of rods, a clamp rigidly securing one end of each rod to one of said parts, and a clamp for the other of said parts providing slidable connection with the intermediate part of such rod.

3. In a multiple signature machine, the combination of a pair of parallel rods, pivoted connections maintaining said rods in constant parallel relation, a pair of clamps secured to one of said rods, each of said clamps having a sleeve swiveled thereto on an axis perpendicular to the axis of the rod, the other of said rods having a clamp secured thereto, a pair of lifting rods extending between said parallel rods, said lifting rods being secured at one end in the last mentioned clamps and having their intermediate portions slidably mounted in said sleeves, the opposite ends of the lifting rods being provided with counterweights, and means to support the pen mechanism through one of said parallel rods.

4. In a multiple signature machine, the combination of a main support, a main shaft journaled therein, a pen rod, lifting rods connecting the pen rod with the main shaft, parallel movement connections auxiliary to said lifting rods between the pen rod and the main shaft, a master pen, a clamp for the master pen providing free universal connection between the master pen and the pen rod, a series of auxiliary pens, and a series of stiff jointed clamps securing the auxiliary pens to the pen rod, substantially as set forth, I

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM FRANK WILLIAMS.

Witnesses:

B. W. Brass, JOHN HEDLEY.

copies of this patent may be obtained 1'01 five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

